Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow and Lucy Campbell (now); Frances Perraudin (earlier)

UK coronavirus live: Hancock wants to ensure right to say goodbye; Whitty says death toll reaching its peak

Evening summary

  • The health secretary Matt Hancock said he wants to ensure that loved ones can be with people who are dying of coronavirus. At the daily government press conference he referenced the case of 13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab who died alone and said he wanted “closest loved ones” to be able to be there, wherever possible.
  • All patients being discharged from hospital into a care home will now automatically be tested for coronavirus, the prime minister’s spokesman said in the lobby briefing. And all care home residents with coronavirus symptoms will also be tested. The spokesman also said that 6,000 care homes had already been offered the chance to test their staff and all care providers will have been approached with the same offer by the end of the week.
  • Hancock also refused to accept he had promised to deliver 25,000 tests per day by now. On 18 March the government committed to increasing the rate of coronavirus testing to 25,000 within four weeks. Today is exactly four weeks from the day that press release was issued, but that target has been missed.
  • The UK government refused to directly criticise President Trump’s decision to freeze funding for the World Health Organisation. The prime minister’s spokesman told the lobby briefing the UK would continue to support the WHO, but he declined to say anything critical about Trump’s stance.
  • The UK’s death toll appears to be reaching its peak, Prof Chris Whitty told the press conference. But high numbers of deaths will continue and they still don’t know what the transmission rate is, he added. They need to know more before relaxing physical distancing measures can be considered.
  • The number of deaths in hospitals across the UK rose by 761 to 12,868. This was slightly down on the further 778 deaths reported yesterday.
  • Northern Ireland’s lockdown will remain in place for the next three weeks, the first minister Arlene Foster announced. She said it was important to continue to do “everything we can to reduce the peak”.
  • Almost two thirds of graduating students have had job applications paused or withdrawn due to the coronavirus pandemic, a survey of more than 5,000 students found. Some 63% of would-be graduates said their applications had been put on pause or withdrawn because of the virus’s continued spread and only a third felt confident about finding a job after the pandemic.

Thank you to everyone who got in touch with tips and suggestions today – your input is invaluable. That’s it from us here on the UK side, but if you’d like to you can continue following the Guardian’s worldwide coronavirus coverage over on our global live blog.

Matt Hancock's press conference - Summary

Here are the main points from Matt Hancock’s press conference.

  • Hancock, the health secretary refused to accept that he has missed a coronavirus testing deadline he set last month as he restated his commitment to increasing testing to the rate of 100,000 a day by the end of April. Exactly four weeks ago today his department said that within four weeks testing would reach 25,000 a day. (See 6.05pm.) The government has not hit that target, because the latest figures show 16,000 tests being carried out a day. At his press conference Hancock wrongly said that he had not set a target of 25,000 tests a day. (See 5.45pm.) But he did recommit himself to the 100,000 tests a day target by the end of the month - despite widespread doubts as to whether this is achievable. He said:

And as we build capacity further over this month and then beyond to that 100,000 a day target by the end of this month we’ll expand further those who are eligible for tests - all as part of the plan to get a hold of this virus and make sure that we support the key public services that we need as this moment.

  • Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, said that the daily death toll from coronavirus in the UK was reaching its peak. He said:

On the issue of the peak, our view is that it is probably reaching the peak overall. That is what the flattening shows.

But Whitty also said the number of deaths might go up tomorrow. That was because, after every weekend, there was a dip in reported deaths at the weekend, and for two days afterwards, followed by a rise. And he said deaths would continue at a high rate for a while. He went on:

At the moment we are not yet at the point where we can say confidently and safely this is now past the peak and we can start thinking very much about the next phases.

Whitty also said that the experts did not know yet what the reproduction number for coronavirus was (the rate at which it is transmitted). It was between 0.5 and 1, he said. (One is the point where one new person gets infected for every person with the virus etc. The reproduction number has to be below 1 for the epidemic to be on the decline.) He said the better the understanding of this number, the more easy it would be for the experts to anticipate what would happen next.

  • Hancock said that he wanted to change hospital rules so that “wherever possible” people will be given the “chance to say goodbye” to loved ones dying with coronavirus. He said that “wanting to be with someone you love at the end of their life is one of the deepest human instincts”, and that he wept at reports of 13-year-old Ismail dying without a parent at his bedside. He went on:

I’m pleased to say that working with Public Health England, the care sector and many others, we are introducing new procedures so we can limit the risk of infection while wherever possible giving people’s closest loved ones the chance to say goodbye.

  • He said that he was promoting a badge for carers, so that they would be able to receive the same public respect as NHS staff. Displaying the badge, he said:

This badge will be a badge of honour in a very real sense, allowing social care staff proudly and publicly to identify themselves, just like NHS staff do with that famous blue and white logo. I know that many businesses will want to offer the same recognition and benefits as they do wonderfully to the NHS.

It subsequently emerged that the badge was first launched last year. (See 5.26pm.)

  • He defended the government’s decision not to discuss details of its exit strategy from the lockdown. Asked about this, he said this might undermine the “clarity” of the guidance issued to the public.
Matt Hancock (left) and Prof Chris Whitty.
Matt Hancock (left) and Prof Chris Whitty. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

More than a dozen UK-based healthcare workers from the Philippines have died from coronavirus, according to Filipino leaders who said the virus was wreaking havoc on a community that forms a backbone of the NHS and care sector.

At least 23 people of Filipino ethnic origin are known to have died since the start of the Covid 19 outbreak, according to a list provided to the Guardian.

The pastor of a church attended in the past by two Filipino hospital porters in Oxford who are believed to have died from Covid-19 spoke of the devastation wrought on his local community alone.

Oscar King Jr and Elbert Rico – two porters at Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital – died over the weekend. King Jr, who was described as a devoted father to his 10-year-old daughter, died on Saturday an hour after being brought to hospital after isolating at home with symptoms consistent with the virus, said Arnold Barrientos, the pastor of the Jesus is Lord Church in Oxford.

King Jr’s wife, Twilight, is recovering after she was also taken to hospital.In a loss that has shaken the large Filipino community in the Oxford area, King Jr’s colleague, Rico, died on Friday from suspected coronavirus. He had been working at the hospital since arriving in the UK from the Philippines in 2004. His wife is a healthcare assistant.

The full story is here.

Tributes have been paid to a pregnant nurse who died after contracting Covid-19, with more than 40 NHS staff now said to have died during the outbreak, PA reports.

Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, 28, who worked as a nurse on a general ward at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital for five years, died on Sunday.

She is survived by her husband AJ and their baby girl, who was delivered successfully by emergency caesarean and is doing well, according to the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who called Agyapong a “highly valued and loved” member of staff.

A GoFundMe memorial appeal was set up by a colleague for her husband and daughter.

The government has confirmed 19 deaths amongst those working for the health service, but announcements from NHS trusts and tributes from loved ones indicate the true number is higher still.

A cycle police officer passes a rhyming message of thanks to key workers organised by the Out of Home advertising industry near St Thomas’ Hospital.
A cycle police officer passes a rhyming message of thanks to key workers organised by the Out of Home advertising industry near St Thomas’ Hospital. Photograph: Guy Bell/REX/Shutterstock

A 34-year-old Polish national has been arrested after 14 kilos of cocaine was found hidden in a consignment of protective face masks attempting to enter the UK via the Channel Tunnel, the Home Office said.

On Tuesday, Border Force officers at the UK control zone in Coquelles, northern France, stopped a Polish-registered van.

The officers searched the vehicle and found a box of 15 wrapped packages concealed within the van, which was transporting boxes of protective face masks.

The contents of some of the packages were tested and proved positive for cocaine.

Ian Hanson, Border Force regional director for Coquelles, said:

This seizure shows the lengths drug smugglers will go to. It is despicable to think they would try and exploit the current situation in this way to get their dangerous drugs on to the UK’s streets.

The driver was arrested and the investigation passed to the National Crime Agency. He remains in custody being questioned. The masks have been detained pending checks by regulators.

Why Hancock is wrong to claim he never promised to deliver 25,000 coronavirus tests per day by now

Here is an extract from the press release issued by the Department for Health and Social Care on 18 March showing that the government did commit to increasing the rate of coronavirus testing to 25,000 within four weeks. Today is exactly four weeks from the day that press release was issued, but that target has been missed.

The copy that was sent to journalists by email was headed: “Government to rapidly boost Covid-19 testing in coming weeks”. It said:

As many as 25,000 people within NHS hospitals will be tested for coronavirus every day as part of a major national effort to boost testing capacity, the government has confirmed today.

With a focus on ensuring the highest priority cases are tested first, officials are working to rapidly increase the number of tests that can be conducted by Public Health England and the NHS in laboratories, with the expected surge in capacity ready within just four weeks.

The copy of the press release on the government’s website is worded slightly differently. It says:

Officials are working to increase the number of tests that can be conducted by Public Health England and the NHS to 25,000 a day.

The increased capacity is expected to be ready within 4 weeks, with highest-priority cases being tested first.

At the press conference Matt Hancock, the health secretary, wrongly claimed that the government had not committed to reaching the 25,000 a day target by today. (See 5.45pm.)

My colleague Rowena Mason says Matt Hancock was wrong when he said the government never committed to achieving 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April. (See 5.45pm.)

Whitty says he does not know what the impact of the lockdown will be on domestic abuse. But this is a huge problem. He says you have to consider potential mental and physical damage.

Q: The government said 25,000 tests a day would be carried out by the middle of March. We are at 15 April, and we have not reached that. So why should we believe you will reach 100,000 a day by the end of April?

Hancock says that is not right. The government said it would reach 25,000 tests a day by the end of April. He increased that to 100,000 tests a day, he says.

Q: Northern Ireland is extending the lockdown for three weeks. (See 4.31pm.) Is that what you will decide for the UK?

Hancock says this will be decided at the Cobra meeting tomorrow.

Q: When the government relaxes the lockdown, will it be relaxed across the UK at the same time? Or will different rules apply in different places, because the coronavirus epidemic is at different stages in different places?

McLean says the slide she showed earlier on people in hospital beds is relevant.

Hospital admissions with coronavirus - by region
Hospital admissions with coronavirus - by region Photograph: No 10

She says London was ahead. But since the lockdown was introduced in the same places at the same time, you would expect to see hospital admissions flattening off at the same time. That is happening generally, she says. She says in London admissions are dropping off more quickly.

Maybe one of the reasons that the number of people in hospital beds in London seems to be falling faster is perhaps, because cases rose faster, here people responded to the earlier bits of advice about staying away a little bit faster.

Updated

Hancock says the testing policy change for care home residents comes into force today.

Q: There are 1.6 million people working in social care. How many of those people will be able to get tests, and when? And what are you doing to address the funding crisis in social care?

Hancock says councils have been given extra money to fund social care.

On testing, he says the NHS does have the capacity to increase testing. The CQC is investing where testing is most needed. He says at the moment there is spare capacity in the thousands. And he says that this will be ramped up to 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month.

Updated

Q: Care homes say they are getting pushback when they try to send elderly people to hospital. And the elderly are being cleared out of hospitals quickly. Is it policy to keep them out of hospital?

Hancock says the decision to admit someone to hospital must be an individual decision, based on individual circumstances. It should not be based on a general rule.

And of course it is best that, when possible, people should be sent home. But that can only be done when it is right.

Whitty says hospitals are good for certain things. But once that need is over, they should not stay. Staying in hospital is not particularly nice for people. And there is an infection risk.

So, once it is safe to discharge someone, they should be discharged, he says.

Q: You were late addressing the problems in care homes. Was that because you wanted to prioritise young people? And have people died unnecessarily as a result?

No, says Hancock.

He says the government first issued guidance to care homes in February.

Today it has updated that guidance, reflecting conditions today.

He says one of the first things understood about the disease is that it has a disproportionate impact on old people.

According to BuzzFeed’s Alex Wickham, Matt Hancock’s carers’ badge is something announced last year.

Updated

Death toll reaching its peak, says Whitty

Prof Chris Whitty says he thinks the death toll is probably reaching its peak.

But he says he expects the death figures to go up tomorrow. He says, after a weekend, the death numbers tend to go down for two days before going up again.

But high numbers of deaths will continue.

He says we are not at the point where we can say confidently that we are past the peak.

He also says that, at this point, they do not know what the transmission rate is. It is between 0.5 and 1, he says. He says they need to know more before they can determine when it is safe to relax the social distancing measures.

When Matt Hancock said he was going to introduce a new carers’ brand, he illustrated it with a badge.

Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, is not impressed.

Updated

Here is the full set of slides.

Prof Dame Angela McLean, the government’s deputy chief scientific adviser, is presenting the daily slides showing the extent of coronavirus.

Here is the global death comparison chart.

Global death comparison
Global death comparison Photograph: No 10

Updated

Hancock says he wants to ensure that loved ones can be with people dying of coronavirus

Hancock says he wants to give people the right to say goodbye.

Around 10,000 people die each month in a care home, he says.

He says being with a loved one when they die can be very important.

He says he has been upset by the stories of people dying without someone by their side. As the father of a 13-year-old, he says he wept when he heard about Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab dying on his own at the age of 13.

He says he wants to ensure that “closest loved ones” will be able to be with people dying of coronavirus, wherever possible.

Updated

Hancock says he is proud of the fact that people support carers and NHS staff. It is not a clap for the NHS. It is a clap for our carers, he says.

He says he wants to introduce a single brand for social care. He wants to ensure that carers get the same sort of priority treatment that NHS staff do in some settings.

He says we all know good examples of social care.

The job isn’t easy, he says.

But he says he knows what a fulfilling profession it is.

Updated

Hancock gives details of the latest coronavirus statistics.

Today he is setting out new plans for social care, he says.

First, he says, the government has focused on controlling the spread of infection. From today all care home residents coming back from hospital will be tested before being admitted to the care home.

Turning to PPE (personal protective equipment), he says a new online delivery system is being rolled out to supply care homes.

This will contribute to slowing the spread of coronavirus in care homes, he says.

Updated

Matt Hancock starts by thanking people for abiding by the social distancing rules.

And he pays special tribute to Capt Tom Moore, the war veteran who has raised £5m for NHS charities. He says Moore is an inspiration.

He says the NHS has increased its spare capacity. It now has 2,657 spare beds, he says.

He says this means the NHS has not been overwhelmed.

Updated

Matt Hancock's press conference

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is holding the daily government coronavirus press conference. He is appearing alongside Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Prof Dame Angela McLean, its deputy chief scientific adviser.

Updated

Entirely remote video hearings are to be introduced into magistrates’ courts to enable cases to be heard safely during the coronavirus crisis, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.

A “mute” button may also be introduced to courts to deal with abusive participants, it has been suggested.

The decision to radically expand the use of technology to even summary offences in the lowest courts in England and Wales shows how swiftly the justice system is adapting to the pandemic.

In a short statement, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) said:

We are increasing our use of video technology to keep the justice system running during this unprecedented crisis and are working to introduce fully remote hearings in magistrates’ courts.

The announcement comes as figures issued by HMCTS earlier this week showed that around 85% of cases heard in England and Wales last week used some form of audio or video technology.

Any decision to hold a remote hearing will be for each judge or panel of magistrates. There are no plans to hold fully remote crown court trials with juries participating from home

Rising numbers of asylum seekers are being forced to sleep rough amid the coronavirus pandemic because of a shortage of government accommodation, according to migration lawyers.

The warning comes as refugee charities raised concerns that a lack of single-occupancy rooms in asylum accommodation was putting people at risk of contracting Covid-19.

Refugee Action said it had dealt with cases where strangers have been made to share beds in hostels since the lockdown began.

Scott Laing, a partner at Bhatia Best solicitors in Nottingham, said there had been a daily increase over the last two weeks of clients faced with being street homeless. He added:

You’ve got people coming into the [asylum] system, but no one actually leaving it now. The private firms contracted to provide accommodation haven’t a sufficient supply. They don’t seem to be able to handle it. This was a struggle previously, but now we’re at a breaking point.

The full story is here.

Updated

Campaigners are calling on Scottish councils to widen pedestrian areas while traffic levels are low to allow people to comply with physical distancing rules.

Taking inspiration from Berlin, New York and New Zealand, Friends of the Earth Scotland wants to see local authorities close currently unused lanes to motor vehicles and expand cycle areas.

FoE Scotland air pollution campaigner Gavin Thomson said that despite people’s best efforts, it is very difficult to pass somebody on a pavement and remain two metres apart. “One of you has to walk on the road or you have to breach guidelines,” he said.

With traffic at very low levels for the foreseeable future, road space could be temporarily re-allocated, giving more space for pedestrians and cyclists. Our pavements are too narrow for social distancing.

Around the world, we’re seeing great initiatives from councils and governments quickly unlocking space for distancing, such as expanded cycle lanes, space for pedestrians on roads, and parks closed to through-traffic.

Updated

A tribute to the NHS on the near-empty round outside the Houses of Parliament today.
A tribute to the NHS on the near-empty round outside the Houses of Parliament today. Photograph: Emerson Utracik/REX/Shutterstock

Three more rounds of EU-UK Brexit talks scheduled, starting next week

Downing Street has just released a joint statement about the Brexit talks issued by David Frost, the PM’s Europe adviser, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, after their conversation by video conference earlier.

Here are the key points.

  • Three more rounds of talks between the UK and EU negotiators have been scheduled, taking place by video conference. Each round will last a week, and they will start on 20 April, 11 May, and 1 June. Frost and Barnier said these talks were required to make “real, tangible progress in the negotiations by June”.
  • The special committee set up under the withdrawal agreement to oversee the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (ie, the plan that will leave Northern Ireland in the single market, creating a de facto customs border down the Irish Sea) is due to meet soon.

The statement does not refer to the possibility of the transition being extended.

David Frost and Michel Barnier (right) in Brussels last month.
David Frost and Michel Barnier (right) in Brussels last month. Photograph: Oliver Hoslet/Reuters

Lockdown in Northern Ireland to be extended for three weeks

This is from the BBC’s Chris Mason.

Northern Ireland’s lockdown will remain in place until at least May, Stormont’s health minister said. After holding discussions with fellow Stormont ministers on Wednesday about maintaining physical distancing restrictions, Robin Swann said:

On the back of that review, the executive today has agreed that the restrictions and requirements set out in the regulations continue to be necessary if we are to continue to flatten the epidemic curve, manage the capacity of the health service and keep Covid-19 deaths to a minimum.

Updated

The Worcestershire acute hospitals NHS trust has issued a video of 81-year-old David Ray being applauded as he returned home to his family after recovering from coronavirus.

Ray was filmed as he made a short speech to medical staff after spending 22 days at Worcestershire Royal hospital.

In a Facebook message thanking the trust, his wife, Anne, wrote:

I am lost for words all I can say is a huge thank you again for your wonderful care in ensuring that my soul mate came home to me and the family.

Updated

‘Thank you NHS’ message outside a closed bar in Archway, London.
‘Thank you NHS’ message outside a closed bar in Archway, London. Photograph: Wayne Tippetts/REX/Shutterstock

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arranged for money generated from their wedding broadcast to be donated to a UK charity feeding children during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The couple has donated £90,000 to Feeding Britain, whose president is the archbishop of Canterbury, who officiated at their wedding. The money is from excess profits from the BBC broadcast.

A spokesperson for the couple said:

The Duke and Duchess were able to speak to the archbishop recently, and were moved to hear all about the work Feeding Britain was doing to support people during Covid-19. They have particularly fond memories of their visit to the citizens’ supermarket in Birkenhead, especially the generosity and compassion of everyone working there to help others. They are delighted to be able to ensure this money is donated to such a great cause.

The BBC bore the brunt of the costs for broadcasting the wedding, which would be offset by transmission rights and subsequent sales of items such as DVDs. It was agreed at the time of the wedding, though, that if there was any excess, a percentage of the profits would go to charity nominated by Harry and Meghan.

Updated

At the government’s press conference yesterday Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, dismissed the idea that the coronavirus crisis might result in the government trying to extend the post-Brexit transition period. This has been the government’s line for weeks, although at Westminster it is widely assumed that an extension is inevitable.

However in this week’s Spectator James Forsyth says that Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, has recently discussed this with colleagues and that they remain determined not to ask for an extension. Forsyth writes:

The thinking is that a delay would not solve the fundamental policy problems and that a deal is either possible or not. Another factor, I understand, is that the government worries about the cost of any extension. There is concern that extending could drag the UK into the arguments about who pays for the various EU schemes designed to protect the European economy and preserve the eurozone.

Government sources are saying this afternoon that, when David Frost, the PM’s Europe adviser, spoke to Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, earlier today about the next round of the Brexit talks, he stressed that the UK does not intend to ask for an extension.

However, Forsyth also floats the possibility that the EU could request an extension, not the UK. “If the EU did ask for more time, it would put the government in a difficult position,” Forsyth writes. “Rejecting the request would sit ill with the idea that the UK wants to be a good neighbour to the EU.”

Under the withdrawal agreement the transition can be extended for one year or two years if both sides agree before 1 July. However the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act says UK ministers are not allowed to agree to an extension. For the government to allow an extension, it would have to pass legislation amending the act.

David Frost.
David Frost. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Turning away from coronavirus for a moment, Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, has used an article for LabourList to urge Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to publish a redacted version of the internal party report leaked at the weekend that showed how hostile some party officials were to Jeremy Corbyn. Where there is evidence officials were abusive, or they undermined the party, they should be suspended, McCluskey says.

Here is an extract.

This cannot be swept under the carpet. First of all, the party should make a properly-redacted version of the report publicly available. This should not be a crisis for Keir Starmer. His desire to unite the party is almost universally shared, and certainly has Unite’s full support. He has rightly reached out to the leading organisations of the Jewish community to rebuild relations. He bears no responsibility for the state of affairs the GLU report reveals. It is absolutely right that his full focus now should be on the coronavirus crisis. But it falls to him and the party NEC to direct the clean-up.

In my view, where there is clear evidence of a party member having engaged in misogynistic or abusive conduct, or having worked to undermine the party’s election campaign, or even having broken the law, there is a case for suspension pending a thorough investigation (with no presumption of guilt).

A hedge with the words THANK YOU cut into the side of it at a property in Glasgow, it is believed to be a tribute to the NHS.
A hedge with the words ‘thank you’ cut into the side of it at a property in Glasgow, it is believed to be a tribute to the NHS. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Updated

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 among prison staff has increased by a third in just 24 hours, the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show.

As at 5pm on Tuesday, 82 prison staff had tested positive for the coronavirus across 35 prisons, compared with just 62 across 28 prisons on Monday.

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 among prisoners rose by 5% to 218 inmates across 57 prisons in the same period. There are around 83,000 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons.

The number of prisoner escort and custody services staff who tested positive rose by one to six.

MPs heard on Tuesday that a “few hundred” prisoners would be released today as part of government plans to temporarily release up to 4,000 prisoners who are within two months of their release date.

Updated

A man has just been sentenced to a year in jail for spitting at three police officers in Greater Manchester, with the judge saying his offence was “particularly aggravating in the current climate”.

Zbibniew Brzezinski, 43, spat at the officers when they were called to a fight in Lower Mosley Street in central Manchester on Tuesday.

He pleaded guilty to the offences at Manchester magistrates court on Wednesday but said he was so drunk at the time he had no recollection of the incident.

District judge Begley said the offences were “deplorable”, particularly in the current climate. “Drink is no excuse,” he added. Sentencing Brzezinski, the judge said:

In this current climate… spitting at anyone, never mind police officers, you can expect to be dealt with in a very serious way. The situation is exacerbated by the current climate. Three separate incidents here of you spitting at police officers. In one instance, it ended up in the officer’s mouth, I’m told. That is deplorable ... The offences are so serious that only custody can be imposed.

Updated

The Metropolitan police are processing hundreds of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) after individuals were found in breach of coronavirus regulations.

The FPNs are one of several measures introduced under emergency legislation designed to help reduce the impact of the pandemic.

There has been a reduction of 32% in total notifiable offences in London. There are also fewer people dialling 999 and making non-emergency calls.

Although the confirmed number of FPNs submitted to the Criminal Records Office by Monday was 81, the total number of FPNs currently being processed within the Met is anticipated to be several hundred.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons, who is leading the Met’s response to the pandemic, said:

The vast majority of people are following government regulations. However, there is a small minority of people who despite every effort to engage, explain and encourage are refusing to follow instructions.

In these rare cases officers have used their new powers in order to protect the NHS and keep people safe.

Updated

Social media app Tik Tok and Team GB have launched the #IsolationGames to challenge British athletes and the public to recreate the Olympics, which have been pushed back until next year, in their own homes.

Top Olympic athletes, including hockey player Sam Ward, gymnastic gold medalist Max Whitlock, snowboarder Aimee Fuller and diving silver medalist Leon Taylor, have taken part. So far Olympic silver medalist Leon Tay posted a video of himself diving into his bath.

The campaign will also be supporting the British Red Cross in response to Covid-19. The #IsolationGames in-app challenge page and accompanying videos will include a link for donations to help deliver food and medicine, and work with the NHS to support people home from hospital.

Zoe Abrams, executive director of communications at the British Red Cross, said:

From showing off your sofa high jumps to taking on a creative triathlon in your living room, you can create your own indoor Olympics while helping the British Red Cross fund its vital work, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our country.

Updated

Ducks in the fountains almost outnumber people on London’s Trafalgar Square.
Ducks in the fountains almost outnumber people on London’s Trafalgar Square. Photograph: Emerson Utracik/REX/Shutterstock

Mounted police have helped clear a town centre in the south Wales valleys after people were apparently tempted out by the perfect blue sky and temperature not far short of 20C.

The operational support team – which includes the mounted and dog sections – tweeted a picture of a deserted Taff Street in Pontypridd after people were ordered home.

Updated

Following new data revealing that one in four coronavirus deaths in Scotland have taken place in a care home setting, Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, has announced a move to test all symptomatic patients in care homes, insisting:

The residents of care homes matter as much to us as those in the community. It’s more important given their vulnerability that we do all we can to prevent infection and to control it.

Sturgeon confirmed that 433 care homes – about 40% of those in Scotland – have reported confirmed or suspected coronavirus outbreaks, and that the Scottish government was planning to publish information on live outbreaks shortly.

Challenged on why the Scottish government had not introduced this testing regime before, she said that it was already standard practice in every care home where there were suspected cases to test before infection control procedures were instituted. She went on:

The move to testing all symptomatic cases is not going to change clinical management but we recognise that there is a feeling from families and staff that they wanted that certainty.

Updated

The head of universal credit has promised that the first batch of record numbers of new benefit claimants will be paid in full and on time as planned next week, despite the loss of around a fifth of benefits staff to self-isolation.

Neil Couling told a briefing of journalists that over 1.4m new universal credit claims had been received since 16 March, around seven times the usual volume, but that hard-pressed staff had been working overtime to process the new applications.

In a bullish assessment, Couling, the director general of universal credit, praised staff and the system for holding up well under the unprecedented strain of demand for new claims. “The system has run beautifully through the crisis,” he said.

There were 270,000 new universal credit claim in the first week of the lockdown, followed by a record 540,000 in the second. This dipped to 380,000 in the third week and 220,000 in the fourth week. With average payments at around £800 a month, the cost to the benefits system was likely to run into billions, Couling said.

He praised benefits staff for “working their socks off” to process the claims. Many had worked over the Easter bank holiday weekend. Around 2,000 staff were now able to process claims from home, with a further 500 able to do so each day, he said. Couling said:

We have never been busier. I don’t think anyone ever estimated we’d see this number of claims in a month but the system is doing well and we are on track to determine everybody’s entitlement.

He predicted that the first of the “pandemic” universal credit payments, applied for in mid-March, were scheduled to go through as scheduled on 22 April. “I will lay serious amounts of money we will get those claims done. It’s our duty to get them done and everyone is working their socks off in DWP to get it done.”

Couling said that although around 17,000 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff had been required to self-isolate at home, around 20,000 staff had been temporarily redeployed from other parts of the department to focus on processing new claims, and around 5,000 new staff would be recruited.

Updated

Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency has published today’s coronavirus death figures for Northern Ireland in its latest daily bulletin (pdf).There have been six new deaths, taking the total in Northern Ireland to 140.

UK hospital coronavirus death toll rises by 761 to 12,868

Here are the latest UK hospital coronavirus death figures from the Department of Health and Social Care. The latest figure for newly reported deaths, 761, is slightly down on the equivalent figure reported yesterday, 778.

The full details of the UK figures are here.

Updated

The Guardian’s latest Politics Weekly podcast is out. Jonathan Freedland wraps up the latest from Westminster with Frances Perraudin. The Guardian’s head of investigations, Paul Lewis, talks about privacy concerns around the soon-to-be-launched NHS app. Plus, the new shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, outlines her hope for the future of the Labour party.

A street cleaner passes the Bank of England in the City of London.
A street cleaner passes the Bank of England in the City of London. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

A man who took his grandfather’s dog for a walk is one of four people on the Isle of Man to be jailed for breaching the coronavirus lockdown rules, the BBC reports.

Liam Skillicorn, 20, was sentenced to six weeks in prison after pleading guilty to leaving his home in Douglas and failing to be tested after showing Covid-19 symptoms.

He had been told to be tested on 3 April and self-isolate, police said. When he failed to attend the island’s testing centre, police officers visited his address on 11 April and found him not to be home. They later discovered Skillicorn had gone to his grandfather’s home to pick up his dog before driving to Port Grainagh beach to walk it for “two to three hours”.

Sean Clarke, 48, from Castletown, was jailed for four weeks after police found him “drinking alcohol and socialising” with a group of people while sitting on a wall at Castletown beach.

Two people have so far died of coronavirus on the Isle of Man, with 256 testing positive.

Further 651 hospital deaths in England bringing total to 11,656

NHS England has announced 651 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 11,656. The full details are here (pdf).

Of the 651 new deaths announced today:
- 113 occurred on 14 April
- 277 occurred on 13 April
- 103 occurred on 12 April

151 of the deaths took place between 1-11 April, and the remaining seven deaths occurred in March, with the earliest new death taking place on 23 March.

NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including newly announced deaths that happened several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for postmortem tests to be processed, and for data from the tests to be validated.

The figures published today by NHS England show that 8 April currently has the highest total for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day – 771 – although this could change in future updates.

Updated

Punts are moored together in Oxford during the lockdown.
Punts are moored together in Oxford during the lockdown. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Deaths in Wales rise by 60 to 463

Public Health Wales said the number of deaths in the country had reached 463, a rise of 60. The details are here.

Dr Giri Shankar, from Public Health Wales, said:

272 new cases have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 6,118, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher.

60 further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for novel coronavirus, taking the number of deaths in Wales to 463.

We are aware that the number of deaths reported today is regrettably much higher than yesterday, however it is worth noting that day-to-day fluctuations are to be expected.

Updated

Huddersfield’s Chinese sister city has donated 10,000 face masks to help protect Kirklees Council staff on the frontline caring for the most vulnerable or delivering key services through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to the heart-warming act of generosity and kindness from the city of Taizhou in the Zhejiang Province of China, councillor Shabir Pandor, leader of Kirklees Council, said:

This is such a generous and thoughtful gesture and I cannot thank the people of Taizhou enough for their kindness. In times like this we all pull together under the umbrella of humanity in fighting a common enemy that does not discriminate.

Our friends in Taizhou might be thousands of miles away but they’re very much a part of our Kirklees community.

This donation will help protect our staff caring for our most vulnerable residents and those making sure the vital services we all rely on continue to run. Thank you so much to the people of Taizhou.

Updated

Support for the NHS in Brighton.
Support for the NHS in Brighton. Photograph: Jon Santa Cruz/REX/Shutterstock

As the lockdown in the UK looks set to continue, the Guardian’s science editor Ian Sample speaks to Prof Carmine Pariante about the physiological and psychological effects of social isolation for this week’s episode of Science Weekly. You can listen here.

The shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said the loans the government is offering businesses are “not good enough”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme, the former Labour leader said:

There are six million SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in this country and only 6,000, that’s one in every thousand, have got loans under this scheme.

And if we see the distress in our economy because of the necessary health measures that have had to be taken, the scale of need goes far beyond 6,000 firms.

The chancellor really I think carries the fate of these firms, of many firms, in his hands in the coming days and I think he needs to move again on the scheme.

There’s no shame in that. The government’s rightly moved once already but it needs to move again.

He added that it is a “necessary step” for the government to move to a 100% guarantee of the loans so that banks do not have to put firms through the checking process.

Student paramedics receive training to deal with coronavirus patients at the Louisa Jordan hospital in Glasgow.
Student paramedics receive training to deal with coronavirus patients at the Louisa Jordan hospital in Glasgow. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Here is some much-needed lunchtime joy.

A 106-year-old woman thought to be Britain’s oldest patient to recover from coronavirus has been discharged to applause from Birmingham’s City hospital.

Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS trust said 106-year-old Connie Titchen, who underwent a hip operation last December, was admitted to hospital in mid-March with suspected pneumonia and diagnosed with Covid-19 soon afterwards.

In a statement issued by the trust, the retired shop worker and great-grandmother said:

I feel very lucky that I’ve fought off this virus. I can’t wait to see my family.

Updated

High street sandwich and coffee chain Pret a Manger is to reopen 10 shops located near hospitals or private medical practices in London, offering takeaway food and drink and delivery only.

The move is in response to requests from a number of local NHS workers and hospitals. Through this initiative Pret will donate 7,000 additional meals every week to its charity partners supporting homeless people.

Updated

Downing Street press conference - Summary

Here is a full summary of the Downing Street lobby briefing.

  • No 10 refused to directly criticise President Trump’s decision to freeze funding for the World Health Organisation. But the prime minister’s spokesman said that the UK would continue to fund the WHO, which he said had an important role to play. (See 1.01pm.)
  • Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, will deputise for the PM in a G7 conference call, or “virtual summit”, taking place tomorrow afternoon, the spokesman said. President Trump will chair it, because the US has the presidency of the G7.
  • The spokesman said details of the formal decision to extend the lockdown would be announced at the daily government press conference tomorrow, after a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee where the details are set to be agreed with the devolved administrations.
  • All patients being discharged from hospital into a care home will now automatically be tested for coronavirus, the spokesman said. And all care home residents with coronavirus symptoms will also be tested. The spokesman also said that 6,000 care homes had already been offered the chance to test their staff and all care providers will have been approached with the same offer by the end of the week. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is expected to give more details at the government’s daily press conference this afternoon.
  • The spokesman said that latest daily total for the number of coronavirus tests carried out was 14,982. He said 12,081 were carried out by NHS laboratories, and 2,486 by the government’s commercial partners in drive-through centres. He claimed the government was still making progress towards the target it has set of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April.
  • The spokesman rejected the call from Labour for the publication of an exit strategy from the coronavirus lockdown. He said government thought it would be a mistake to start having a national conversation about its exit strategy now. It was important to wait until the peak of the epidemic was over, the spokesman said. Asked if the government was not publishing its exit strategy because it did not have one yet, the spokesman said that “extensive work” on this issue was taking place in Whitehall.
  • The spokesman confirmed that David Frost, the PM’s Europe adviser, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, were speaking today about a timetable for resuming the Brexit talks in April and in May.
  • The spokesman defended the government’s decision not to name all the members of Sage, the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies. He said that, in a letter to the Common science committee (pdf), Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said the decision not to disclose the name of all Sage members was in line with the advice of the centre for the protection of national infrastructure. Vallance said that withholding the names protected Sage members from being subject to undue influence.
  • The spokesman said that the NHS staff absence rate was going down. Yesterday it was 5% for doctors and 8.4% for nurses, down from 5.3% for doctors and 8.6% for nurses on Monday. More NHS staff are now being tested for coronavirus.
  • The spokesman said the UK thought China had lessons to learn from its handling of the coronavirus crisis. The provision of transparent and accurate information about the virus was vital, the spokesman said. He was responding to questions about whether the UK agreed with President Trump’s criticism of China.
  • The spokesman was unable to say whether the PM and his ministers would be following the example of their New Zealand counterparts and taking a 20% pay cut. The spokesman said he was not aware at this point of any plans for ministers to do the same thing.
  • The spokesman implied EU rules were partly to blame for VAT being charged on PPE (personal protective equipment). Asked why VAT was still being charged on these items, he said the rules were set out in both UK and EU law. But he said that, if care homes or the NHS buy PPE using donations or charitable funds, they do not pay VAT. And he said the government had waived import taxes on crucial medical equipment coming into the UK.
  • The spokesman said the Health and Safety Executive and Public Health England were looking at how rules could be relaxed to allow some PPE items to be used more than once. But this would only be allowed if it were safe to do so, he said.
  • The spokesman said there was no further update on the condition of the prime minister, who is still recuperating at Chequers.
  • The spokesman said that, alongside Matt Hancock, Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Angela McLean, its deputy chief scientific adviser, will appear at this afternoon’s press conference.
10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

A poem has highlighted the crucial roles immigrant workers are playing in the UK’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

You Clap for Me Now features Britons with black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are essential workers during the global pandemic – including doctors, nurses, teachers, shopkeepers and food delivery drivers. Here is the video.

Doctors have been warned they could potentially face prosecution if they make emergency clinical decisions to withdraw treatment in order to prioritise care for other patients during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Medical Defence Union (MDU), the largest medical organisation representing medics in legal cases, has issued advice to members who may have to resolve problems about competition, for example, over the availability of ventilators during the pandemic.

The MDU is advising doctors to make emergency applications to the court of protection, which safeguards the interests of those who are unable to represent themselves, before they withdraw any treatment.

Dr Christine Tomkins, chief executive of the MDU, said:

The question has been raised about whether doctors may face criminal and regulatory investigation when making emergency decisions about the administration and withdrawal of life prolonging treatment.

As the law currently stands, if a doctor is faced with the dilemma of competing interests between two patients and the possibility of withdrawing treatment which is in the patient’s best interests from that patient, in order to treat another patient, the doctor should first ensure their [NHS] trust makes an emergency application for a declaration to the court of protection.

No action to withdraw life-saving treatment which is in the patient’s interests should occur unless the court first rules this is lawful. Emergency declarations of this kind can be obtained very swiftly.

We hope this dilemma will not arise in practice, given the tremendous efforts which have been made by the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demands of Covid-19. MDU members can contact us for help and advice 24 hours a day should they need to.

Updated

A woman applauds the ambulance staff as she walks along the promenade in Swanage.
A woman applauds the ambulance staff as she walks along the promenade in Swanage. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

The shadow education secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, has stepped into the row over the government’s troubled free school meals voucher scheme which has been branded a “fiasco” by school leaders.

Head teachers have complained that many families whose children are eligible for free school meals are having to wait for their supermarket vouchers because of problems with the Edenred website responsible for their delivery.

The website was closed over the weekend to expand capacity in order to meet demand but many school leaders are still experiencing problems and continue to report delays.

Long-Bailey said the government had done the right thing setting up the scheme, but warned that administrative errors could lead to children going hungry. She said:

It is vital that the government listens to school leaders to get this right. School leaders across the country have raised serious concerns about their ability to complete and access their orders.

While steps are being taken to address this, the Department [for Education] must be transparent about both the scale of the problem and how they will ensure that all families have access to the food they urgently need.

It is essential that schools have flexibility to deliver urgent support where needed and will not have to foot the bill for providing these vital services from their existing budgets.

Updated

The Welsh government has said it is starting to consider how to ease the Covid-19 restrictions – but warned that the disruption will continue for a significant period.

Education minister Kirsty Williams told the daily press briefing in Cardiff:

The Welsh government is beginning to think about what steps we can take as a nation to begin to ease the restrictions following an end to lockdown. Clearly that will be guided very much by science.

She said she expected the Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, to give more details after this week’s meetings of the UK’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) and Cobra.

But Williams also said:

We should prepare ourselves for a significant period of disruption.

A rainbow message of support for the NHS written in both English and Welsh is seen painted on a garage wall in Penarth, Wales.
A rainbow message of support for the NHS written in both English and Welsh is seen painted on a garage wall in Penarth, Wales. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images

The British ‘heritage’ clothing company Barbour is switching its resources to make scrubs for NHS staff rather than its traditional waxed jackets.

Working with the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne – which was the first hospital to treat UK patients suffering from coronavirus in January, its South Shields factory made a first batch of gowns which were delivered on Good Friday.

From this week, it is scaling up production of gowns and scrubs for the RVI and other North-East NHS Trusts to support frontline medical staff who are in urgent need of these items.

Barbour’s chair, Dame Margaret Barbour, said:

Our staff’s welfare is our most important priority and we have undertaken a strict risk assessment to ensure we adhere to social distancing and that they are fully protected whilst undertaking this important role.

The factory, where we normally make our classic wax jackets is no stranger to adaptation. During both world wars, we turned the factory over to make military garments to assist the war effort. We are pleased to once again be able to make a difference and this time, to support the NHS.

Updated

No 10 refuses to directly criticise Trump's decision to halt funding for World Health Organisation

The Downing Street lobby briefing has just finished. And it has emerged that the UK government is refusing to directly criticise President Trump’s decision to freeze funding for the World Health Organisation.

The prime minister’s spokesman said that the UK would continue to support the WHO, but he declined any invitation to say anything critical about Trump’s stance. Asked for the UK’s response to the president’s move, the spokesman said:

Our position is that the UK has no plans to stop funding the World Health Organisation which has an important role to play in leading the global health response. Coronavirus is a global challenge and it’s essential that countries work together to tackle this shared threat.

When asked if the government was disappointed by Trump’s decision to freeze payments to the WHO, the spokesman said:

I can only set out the UK’s position, and that is that we have no plans to stop funding the World Health Organisation.

By contrast, in an interview with LBC this morning, the new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was happy to criticise the US president’s decision. Starmer said:

That is completely the wrong thing to do. There needs to be a global response to this, we should be supporting our global institutions. We’re about to go on and try and get a vaccine, there should be a global effort to get that vaccine and a global plan as to how we roll that out across the world. This is not the time to be retreating and pulling away from global organisations that help roll that out.

I will post a full summary of the briefing shortly.

Further 84 patients die in Scotland bringing total to 699

A total of 699 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 84 from 615 on Tuesday, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said.

The figures are lower than those given earlier by the National Records of Scotland as they do not include suspected and probable coronavirus infections.

Sturgeon said 6,748 people had now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 390 from 6,358 the day before.

There are 195 people in intensive care with coronavirus or coronavirus symptoms, a decrease of one on Tuesday, she added, and there are 1,748 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.

Updated

A English provider of PPE has spelled out why it is not supplying to care homes in Wales and Scotland.

Wiltshire company Gompels has found itself at the centre of a row over PPE manufacturers allegedly prioritising England over Scotland and Wales,.

It has issued a statement claiming it distributes millions of items of PPE to care settings in Scotland, Wales and England.

But it says three items (a type of mask, apron and gloves) are part of England’s pandemic flu stock. It says it is only allowed to supply these three items to CQC registered settings operating in England.

Mounted police officers patrol along a deserted Regent Street in London.
Mounted police officers patrol along a deserted Regent Street in London. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP

Schools in Wales will not re-open to all children after the Easter holidays, the Welsh government has said. “A change to that is not imminent,” the education minister, Kirsty Williams, added.

In the first week of the Easter holidays, 430 schools and other settings opened for the children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters. Around 2,700 pupil attended daily.

More than 250 opened on Good Friday and Easter Monday with around 680 children attending.

Updated

Remixing the BBC News theme tune has become a bit of a lockdown pastime in certain parts. Now Owain Wyn Evans, a much-loved weather man on BBC North West Tonight, has gone viral after posting a video of himself drumming along to what he insists is “a bit of a banger”.

Almost one million people have watched the clip, marvelling at his rhythm. It turns out Wyn Evans has not taken up the drums as a self-isolation hobby, but started drumming when he was eight, and was semi-professional before deciding to go down the weather presenting career route in his 20s.

The 36-year-old said he was delighted at how the video had taken off:

We are all trying to find ways of keeping our spirits up during this difficult time of lockdown, and it is great that this has proved such a hit. It started out as a fun idea and has really caught on. The tune itself is obviously a bit of a banger anyway, and I knew it would sound brilliant on the drums!

A sign at a quiet Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland which would normally be busy with walkers and tourists as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
A sign at a quiet Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, which would normally be busy with walkers and tourists as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Updated

Hundreds of coronavirus deaths in Scotland's care homes, new figures reveal

A total of 962 people have died in Scotland with confirmed or suspected coronavirus as of 12 April, according to the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

The figures are announced weekly and account for all deaths registered in Scotland where Covid-19 was mentioned in the death certificate.

They differ from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish government because they include suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.

There were 608 deaths relating to Covid-19 registered between 6-12 April, a rise of 326 on the 282 registered between 30 March and 5 April, according to the NRS. There were 62 deaths between 23 and 29 March and 10 in the week of 16-22 March.

The total number of all deaths registered in Scotland from 6-12 April was 1,969, with Covid-19 accounting for 31% of all deaths in that week. The average number of deaths registered in the same week over the last five years was 1,100.

A quarter of all registered deaths involving Covid-19 in Scotland occurred in care homes, according to the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

Figures up until 12 April show that 62% of registered deaths were in hospitals and 13% were at home or non-institutional settings. Almost 70% of all registered deaths involving coronavirus were people aged 75 or over.

Updated

The UK government was too slow to respond to and manage the coronavirus outbreak and the delay resulted in further deaths, the former UK government chief scientific adviser has said.

Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Prof Sir David King said:

Why we didn’t respond so much sooner once this epidemic broke out in China, I simply don’t know and I say this because in 2006, we published a report on actions needed to deal with a pandemic and in that report, we showed that if an outbreak occurred of any new virus of this kind, anywhere in the world, within three months, due to air travel, it would be everywhere in the world and that, of course, is what has happened – and it seems that we were unprepared and we didn’t take action.

Imagine, 16 March, having a horse race go on with a massive crowd at Cheltenham. We didn’t manage this until too late and every day’s delay has resulted in further deaths in the United Kingdom.

King also said austerity measures put in place in 2010 have cost lives:

I think it is really difficult because it goes right back to 2010, when the government came in with a very clear policy to reduce public spending across the board, including the NHS and I’m afraid these austerity measures did lead to the cutting back on the risk management programmes and clearly this also managed to cause problems with flooding across the UK.

We were much better prepared for better spending for the Environment Agency on that and equally unprepared for pandemics. For me, this is very upsetting because we had set this preparation process in place, as I say, back in 2006.

Asked by Ferrari if it is as simple to say that the austerity measures cost lives, King replied: “Absolutely. That is what I’m saying.”

On what the government needs to do, King said the answer was testing:

Until we get testing done on a very much wider scale, we’re not going to begin to manage this.

Updated

Thank you so much to everyone who has already been in touch today with tips for the live blog. I really appreciate all your messages, especially the ones thanking the Guardian for its coverage.

Please do continue to get in touch throughout the day with any stories, tips, comments or suggestions via the usual channels (below). Your thoughts are always welcome and apologies if I can’t reply to you all.

Email: lucy.campbell@guardian.co.uk
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_

A jogger running past the Manchester Central conference centre today, which has been converted into am NHS Nightingale hospital.
A jogger running past the Manchester Central conference centre today, which has been converted into am NHS Nightingale hospital.


 Photograph: Anthony Devlin/AFP via Getty Images

The head of Border Force at Heathrow has paid tribute to an officer who has died after contracting Covid-19, while the Home Office has defended its use of personal protective equipment following the tragedy.

The man, whose family have asked not to be named, is the second Heathrow Border Force officer to die after contracting the coronavirus. Nick Jariwalla, director of Border Force Heathrow, said:

Our colleague was a dedicated and professional officer, known for his kindness and generosity. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends at this most difficult time.

The Home Office has said protective clothing and equipment is available to all Border Force staff after another Heathrow officer died. But Public Health England guidance does not recommend that Border Force staff wear fluid-repellent surgical face masks or disposable gloves for their day-to-day work, the department added.

When staff come into contact with a symptomatic person who is suspected of having a Covid-19 infection – such as interviewing at less than two metres distance, or arrest and restraint – then they should wear disposable gloves and fluid-repellent surgical face masks. A Home Office spokesperson said:

The safety of the public and our staff is of the utmost importance. In line with Public Health England guidance, all staff have protective clothing and equipment available, including masks and disposable gloves, for when they are in close contact with anyone displaying symptoms.

Aldi has launched home workout videos led by eight athletes from Team GB. The daily fitness content will be hosted on Aldi’s YouTube channel and will include home workouts, daily challenges and top tips for keeping physically fit, regardless of fitness ability.

The Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has defended his abrasive interview with the care minister Helen Whately this morning (see 9.23am) - and called for her to be sacked.

Following the news that two Border Force workers have now died after contracting Covid-19, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is calling for all Border staff to be given personal protective equipment as a matter of urgency.

The PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said it was a “disgrace” that not enough PPE equipment was being provided for staff working at airports. He said:

The home secretary must intervene and ensure our members can go to work fully protected from coronavirus.

Updated

Eight residents in a care home in Crosby have died from suspected coronavirus, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Almost two-thirds of graduating students have had job applications paused or withdrawn

Almost two thirds of graduating students have had job applications paused or withdrawn due to the coronavirus pandemic, a survey by the Bright Network suggests.

The survey of more than 5,000 students, found that 80% of this year’s graduates are worried that coronavirus will affect their university grades and 83% feel under more pressure because of uncertainty prompted by the pandemic.

Some 63% of students said their applications had been put on pause or withdrawn because of the virus’s continued spread, showing the market for graduate jobs has slowed significantly since the onset of the crisis, the network said.

Just under half (49%) of would-be graduates were confident of securing a job before the pandemic, but that has dropped to one third, the survey suggested.

James Uffindell, founder of the organisation, said graduates needed support as they prepared to enter the workplace in the wake of the pandemic:

In these uncertain times, graduates need all the help they can get to understand what the opportunities are, and how best to find them.

It’s incumbent on universities, employers and services like ours to step up our support to ensure graduates are getting into the right careers – helping to rebuild an economy that will have been severely impacted by the pandemic.

A version of this story was posted on the blog yesterday by accident, but it was removed because the survey was embargoed until today.

Only a third of the students surveyed said they felt confident about securing a job after graduating.
Only a third of the students surveyed said they felt confident about securing a job after graduating. Photograph: Prasit Rodphan/Alamy Stock Photo

Updated

In response to complaints that NHS and care home staff cannot get the PPE (personal protective equipment) they need, the government tends to resort to reciting the figures showing the number of PPE items delivered. They sound huge, because there are normally lots of millions involved, although the statistics on their own are probably less powerful than the stories about real-life shortages. But here is the latest number spray from NHS England.

This thread is from the BBC’s Danny Shaw. He reports that a Border Force officer who worked at Heathrow has died after contracting coronavirus.

Last month, another Heathrow Border Force worker, who had underlying health conditions, also died after contracting Covid-19.

This raises important questions about the safety of customs and immigration staff and whether they should be provided with PPE, given the number of people they come into contact with on a day-to-day basis.

Shaw reports that the Home Office claims equipment, including masks and gloves, is “available for when they are in close contact with anyone displaying symptoms”, but the head of the PCS union says Border Force managers are refusing to supply staff with PPE for fear of giving the “wrong impression”, presumably to travellers and the general public.

Updated

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, has finally agreed to lay on charter flights to rescue British nationals stranded in Pakistan since the country went into lockdown at the end of March.

After an avalanche of criticism from the shadow foreign secretary, Lisa Nandy, and over 70 MPs, Christian Turner, the high commissioner in Pakistan, today confirmed the foreign secretary had now decided to intervene directly.

He said the decision had been taken after the national airline Pakistan International Airlines had informed them they would no longer be running special flights to the UK. Turner said:

Dominic Raab has agreed that we can now organise a series of charter flights to get more Britons back home. These flights will be fare paying and will take some time, probably the rest of this week to set up.

In a tweet he said he was aware of the “frustrations” that tens of thousands who had been stranded in the country had felt in the past weeks.

But he said it had already got more than 7,500 British nationals home through PIA special flights since 4 April.

Updated

A person walks past a mural supporting the NHS in Kensington, Liverpool.
A person walks past a mural supporting the NHS in Kensington, Liverpool. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Updated

Scottish Care has launched a bereavement charter today, offering principles and support to help Scotland grieve during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

Donald Macaskill – head of the care homes umbrella body - is insistent that “this is not a health document”; he wants to see the charter in schools, doctors’ surgeries, and restaurants, and to prompt discussion at arts festivals and book clubs. He said:

I don’t think there’s going to be any family that is not touched, any street that is not impacted by the current pandemic.

Planned before the pandemic and the result of extensive consultation over more than a year, the charter emphasises that bereavement and grieving can be experienced by the whole community and not just by individuals, and calls for an “open culture ... where grief and death are recognised as a natural part of life”.

Macaskill says the charter has particular resonance now that the normal and natural processes for grieving, like funeral rituals, have been dramatically restricted.

He adds that those working closely with the sick and the vulnerable also need to be supported.

I do have great concerns about the mental health of staff, who often have very close relationships with those they care for. The high degree of mortality we are expecting will take a huge emotional toll.

Dr Donald Macaskill.
Dr Donald Macaskill. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Updated

From the Department for International Trade

The domestic abuse commissioner has told MPs time limits on investigating crimes will need to be relaxed to allow survivors of violence in the home to report perpetrators once coronavirus lockdown restrictions are relaxed.

Nicole Jacobs told a remote session of the home affairs select committee today that some victims of domestic abuse during the Covid-19 pandemic will feel unable to report abuse during the lockdown as it will not be safe.

Crimes that are “summary only”, which means that they can only be tried at a magistrates court, including common assault and harassment, must be prosecuted within six months. Jacobs said:

I have heard from police about the need to extend the time by which people can report crimes. There are people who are experiencing abuse right now who aren’t able to call the police because it wouldn’t be safe for them.

But they may well want to report a crime later so we need to allow for some extension to what the normal timescales would be for that kind of thing.

Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner, told the committee that provision of accommodation for domestic abuse victims was presenting problems as refuges were either full or there were complications arising around bringing in or moving out potentially infected tenants.

“You do need to have somewhere to go, an emergency package from the government to fund accommodation would be most welcome,” Baird told the MPs.

A number of domestic abuse charities and campaigners have reported a surge in calls to helplines and online services since the lockdown conditions were imposed.

Updated

Scotland’s business community has welcomed a U-turn from the Scottish finance secretary, Kate Forbes, who this morning said she had “listened carefully” to concerns and announced that emergency funds would be provided by property rather than by business, as is the case in England and Wales. The details are here.

This comes after weeks of representations from businesses, especially smaller chains, who felt they were being penalised by the decision to give out grants on a one per business basis, rather than one per property as elsewhere in the UK. The change still doesn’t go as far at the UK’s scheme, but will see £25,000 given to the first business property, with subsequent premises given 75% of that. In England and Wales, all properties get 100% of the £25,000 fund.

Forbes’ announcement also includes a new fund aimed at newly self-employed people who may have struggled to access the existing scheme, as well as small firms not eligible for existing grants and who face cash-flow problems.

Kate Forbes.
Kate Forbes. Photograph: Ken Jack/Getty Images

Updated

Tesco has started construction work on a dedicated pop-up store for staff working at the NHS Nightingale ExCel in London, which it hopes to open on Sunday.

The 24-hour shop is being adapted from an existing retail unit next to ExCel with a marquee at the front to increase the amount of space. It will be staffed by 40 colleagues from nearby Tesco stores. Any surplus food from the store will be redistributed to frontline NHS staff where possible and then to those who need it across the borough.

Capt Tom Moore, the 99-year-old war veteran who is raising money for NHS charities by walking lengths of his back garden, has now received donations worth more than £5m, his JustGiving page reveals. When he started last week he was just aiming for £1,000.

Capt Tom Moore.
Capt Tom Moore. Photograph: Tom Moore/PA

Updated

My colleague Harry Davies has been looking at the background of Lord Bethell, the hereditary Tory peer who was recently made an unpaid health minister and who is now in charge of ramping up the coronavirus testing programme.

During his interview round this morning Sir Keir Starmer, the new Labour leader, was also asked about his decision to order a review into the leak of an internal Labour report compiled when Jeremy Corbyn was leader looking at how the party handled complaints. The internal report highlighted factionalism in the party, and the extent to which some party staff opposed what Corbyn was doing.

Here are two of the main points.

  • Starmer said he was “shocked” by the contents of the report and by “the circumstance in which it all came about”.
  • He insisted that Labour had to reject factionalism. He told the Today programme:

We absolutely have to turn our back on factionalism and that was the whole basis of my leadership campaign.

  • He refused to commit to expelling people from the party for undermining Corbyn. Asked on Sky News if he would commit to getting rid of people who were actively working against his predecessor, Starmer replied:

I’m not going to pre-empt the outcome of this investigation. I’ve set it up. I want it to be speedy. And I’ll obviously look at the result when we get it.

The internal report runs to 860 pages. Sienna Rodgers at LabourList has a very thorough summary of it here.

Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser, has been photographed arriving for work at No 10 on his own today. He is normally photographed arriving with his colleague Cleo Watson, but yesterday when they were pictured arriving together Cummings was accused of ignoring government social distancing rules.

Dominic Cummings arriving for work at No 10 this morning.
Dominic Cummings arriving for work at No 10 this morning. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images

Steve Rotherham, the metro mayor of Liverpool city region, has announced a £400,000 fund to provide immediate financial support for the city’s creative industry. The initiative, which is being funded by the combined authority, is part of a series of targeted projects to help small and medium businesses survive during the coronavirus lockdown. It includes a music fund which will provide grants or loans of up to £10,000 to support small businesses in the sector, and a film and TV development fund which will provide investments of up to £25,000 per project.

Rotheram said:

It is absolutely vital that we do everything we can to protect and preserve our music, film and TV industries. They are at the beating heart of our city region’s very identity and are responsible for 5,000 jobs, contributing £228m to our economy every year in normal times.

The Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, has written to the European commission asking it to investigate claims that care home owners in Wales and Scotland are suffering a shortage of PPE because suppliers are prioritising the NHS in England.

The Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price, has written to the president of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to raise the matter and ask her to look into it. Price said:

I have lodged a formal complaint to the European commission relating to instructions reportedly issued by Public Health England to the main domestic suppliers of PPE in the UK not to sell certain high-demand items to care homes outside of England.

Price claimed this potentially breached EU regulations and added:

I have been made aware of countless cases of care home workers being left to work with wholly inadequate PPE, endangering themselves and those they care for.

This really is a matter of life and death and the Welsh and UK governments must get to grips with the problems surrounding the supply and distribution of PPE as a matter of urgency whilst doing so in a manner which doesn’t discriminate any nation in any way.

Downing Street denies that the NHS in England is being prioritised over the other nations.

Updated

The husband of a former MP has died from Covid-19 in hospital after twice being told that he did not have the virus.

Betty Williams said her husband, Evan Williams, 79, died in intensive care on Good Friday – a day after a third test showed he had contracted the disease.

He had initially been taken to a general ward a fortnight ago where he was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, before falling seriously ill and being placed on a ventilator.

The former Aberconwy MP told NorthWalesLive :

What worries me most about this is if the first two tests were negative, and the last test – the day before he died – was positive, he has either picked up the virus at Ysbyty Gwynedd or he had it when he went into hospital.

If he took it in with him I’m really worried that he passed it on to other staff and patients.

Updated

A jogger runs past the deserted Spanish City, Whitley Bay, this morning.
A jogger runs past the deserted Spanish City, Whitley Bay, this morning. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters

The Welsh government has apologised for sending letters warning the most vulnerable people to stay at home to the wrong addresses.

It said that some shielding letters had been sent to previous addresses because of a processing error. A spokesperson said:

Due to a processing error within the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), some shielding letters were posted to a previous address, where the intended recipient had recently moved. All letters have since been reissued to the correct addresses.

We provided all local authorities with the correct details from the start of this process, and they have been directly contacting each person involved over the past two weeks.

The spokesperson said supermarkets had also received the correct addresses and have been using these to prioritise delivery slots for people who are shielding.

“We fully understand the concern this would have caused people and sincerely apologise for the mistake,” the spokesperson added.

The government has not so far said how many letters were sent to the wrong addresses. The BBC has reported that it was 13,000.

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Frances Perraudin.

We have already covered what Helen Whately, the care minister, said in interviews on Sky News and BBC Breakfast (see 7.57am), but Whately had a tougher time when questioned by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. One of the issues on which they clashed was over the number of NHS workers who have died from coronavirus. Whately insisted the official figure was still 19. She said:

The data that has been reported to me of confirmed deaths of health workers is 19. We know that also some workers have died who work in social care and, I’ll be straight with you, we don’t have a figure for that.

Morgan said that was “complete nonsense”, saying that newspapers have identified at least 38 NHS workers who have died with Covid-19.

The Nursing Notes website has been keeping a tally in memory of health and social care workers who have died with coronavirus, and this morning it lists a total of 51.

Updated

The row over PPE manufacturers allegedly prioritising England over Scotland and Wales, which we reported on here, rumbles on this morning with the Scottish health secretary calling on her UK counterpart to resolve the “contradiction” between his assurances and the response from equipment manufacturers.

Overnight, the head of umbrella body Scottish Care, Donald Macaskill, has stood by his claims that firms have told his members that they cannot supply to Scotland because they are prioritising NHS England, with one company in particular suggesting that it had been instructed to do so by Public Health England.

The owner of this firm, Gompels Healthcare, based in Wiltshire, gave an interview to the Courier in which he explained that the PPE in question had come from Public Health England’s own stocks which were stockpiled in case of a flu pandemic, arguing that given it was supplied by a body with no jurisdiction over any part of the UK other than England, it was right the equipment should remain there. Sam Gompels said:

The fact is Public Health England got their finger out and organised these distribution channels and are getting pilloried for it because public health Scotland, or whatever the equivalent is, have not necessarily organised the same and that’s probably the nub of it.

This morning on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland, the Scottish health secretary, Jeane Freeman, insisted that her government had organised equivalent supply chains, widening the scope of the normal procurement organisation National Services Scotland early on. She said:

That was to recognise the fact that the normal PPE ordering of the care home sector might not be sufficient in a pandemic … I am now looking at a contradiction between what a company says and the assurance the secretary of state has given me and I have simply asked him to resolve that because it sits at his hand.

Jeane Freeman.
Jeane Freeman. Photograph: Scottish Government/AFP via Getty Images

Updated

The new shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, has written to the government raising questions about the pace and scale of its prisoner release plans. It was announced earlier this month that as many as 4,000 inmates in England and Wales were to be temporarily released from jail in an effort to try and control the spread of coronavirus.

In a letter to the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, seen by the Guardian, Lammy raised concerns that the number of prisoners released would be a “fraction” of the potential 4,000 eligible.

The justice committee on Tuesday heard a “few hundred” prisoners would be released on Wednesday, although only four had been released since the decision to release inmates was announced on 4 April. Lucy Frazer, the justice minister, told MPs it took time to process the risk assessments required before the early release of prisoners.

Lammy wrote:

It is no exaggeration to say that the challenges you are facing as the secretary of state for justice during the Covid-19 outbreak are matters of life and death.

The shadow justice secretary raised further questions about the level of personal protective equipment (PPE) sent to prison staff, as well as additional measures to reduce overcrowding after the government announced it would build 500 temporary cells on the existing prison estate. He also raised the question of testing within the prison estate. On Tuesday, the justice committee heard 700 prison staff had been tested for coronavirus and this was expected to be ramped up in the weeks ahead.

Updated

On the subject of lifting the lockdown, this graphic looks at the plans in place across Europe, alongside the IMF’s dire economic forecasts.

Lockdown plans across Europe
Plans for lifting the lockdown across Europe.

Starmer: People need 'light at end of tunnel'

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has been speaking to ITV’s This Morning. He’ll be on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme shortly.

He told ITV that people needed to be shown “light at the end of the tunnel” over the coronavirus outbreak.

It’s obvious that the lockdown is going to continue and we are going to support the government in that. But, I do think, the question therefore is what comes next?

People are trusting the government ... but they do need to see light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not asking the government for timings, of course, I understand why they can’t give us timings. But we do need the trust of the public as we go forward.

Starmer added: “It is clear to me that mistakes have been made and things haven’t been done as quickly as they should. I’m challenging the government today to make sure we don’t make those mistakes again.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Updated

Police were called to 1,008 reports of people having house parties and gatherings in Greater Manchester over the Easter weekend, despite current lockdown guidance, Amy Walker reports.

Many involved people from more than one household having barbecues in back gardens during warm weather.

Greater Manchester police (GMP) told the Manchester Evening News they were called to 222 reports on Friday, 309 on Saturday, 386 on Sunday and a further 91 on Monday.

Ian Hopkins, GMP’s chief constable, told the newspaper:

People have lost their loved ones. Families are losing people too early when they shouldn’t be. Listening to some of the reports about what it’s like to lose someone and you can’t be with them, it’s heart-breaking.

I just think people who think it’s OK to flout the regulations should just think about those families, and think about future families who will lose loved ones if this virus continues to spread in the way that it has been.

The force repeatedly urged the public not to flout the rules over the bank holiday after they responded to more than 500 parties between March 25 and April 7, including some with DJs, bouncy castles and fireworks.

Updated

More than 1,000 care home workers already tested for coronavirus, says minister

Helen Whately, the minister for care, has been speaking to Sky News. She said that more than 1,000 care workers had already been tested for coronavirus and more than 2,000 had been referred for tests. This contradicts what shadow care minister Liz Kendall said last night, that only 500 care staff had been tested to date. Whately said:

The testing is in progress. Over the next few days the Care Quality Commission is going to be phoning up nearly 30,000 care providers in order to identify who they need testing and start lining up people for tests.

Care minister Helen Whately.
Care minister Helen Whately. Photograph: Johnny Armstead/Rex/Shutterstock

She later told BBC Breakfast:

We have been doing everything that we can to protect those really vulnerable people living in care homes or receiving care at home.

From the moment it looked like coronavirus was coming our way ... we have been working really hard to do whatever we can to protect those receiving care from this truly awful, horrible illness.

Care home leaders have accused the government of vastly underestimating the deaths of elderly people from coronavirus and warned the disease may be circulating in more than 50% of nursing homes, with mortality is significantly higher than official figures.

You can read the full story here:

Updated

Government promises tests for people in care homes

In a government announcement made overnight they have pledged that all care home residents and social care staff with Covid-19 symptoms will be tested for the virus as capacity increases.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said he was determined to ensure that everyone needing a test should have access to one, with testing remaining a key part of the government’s coronavirus battle plan.

Currently, only the first five symptomatic residents in a care home setting are tested to provide confirmation of whether there is an outbreak.

Hancock said:

I am deeply conscious that people in residential care are among the most vulnerable to coronavirus. We are doing everything we can to keep workers, residents and their families safe.

We have already begun testing social care workers and will roll this out nationwide over the coming days. And as we continue to ramp up our testing programme, we will test all current care home residents with coronavirus symptoms and all new care home residents who are discharged from hospital into care.

Health secretary Matt Hancock.
Matt Hancock. Photograph: James Veysey/Rex/Shutterstock

The announcement follows criticism that the government’s coronavirus strategy has ignored the social care sector, where there is evidence the virus is widespread.

The shadow minister for social care Liz Kendall has said that “only 500 care staff having been tested to date”, and social care needs “a much greater priority and focus than it has had so far”.

Updated

The BBC has seen a leaked Public Health England (PHE) document that says elements of personal protective equipment (PPE) could be reused by NHS staff as a “last resort”.

It states that protective masks and gowns could need to be cleaned and reused when stocks run low and admits there is currently a “reduced ability to re-supply” PPE. Some hospitals have already begun cleaning single-use gowns to preserve stocks, according to separate emails seen by the BBC.

You can read the BBC story here.

Updated

Starmer calls on government to set out lockdown exit strategy

Good morning. I’m Frances Perraudin and I’ll be guiding you through this morning’s coronavirus developments in the UK. You can contact me on Twitter on @fperraudin with any questions/tips – I’ll do my best to reply.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, – who is due to speak to broadcasters this morning – is calling on the government to publish its strategy for exiting the coronavirus lockdown this week, saying that the “silent pressures” on communities across the UK should not be underestimated.

The government is expected to announce an extension of the lockdown tomorrow. Writing in a letter to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the prime minister while he recovers from the virus, Starmer said:

The question for Thursday therefore is no longer about whether the lockdown should be extended, but about what the government’s position is on how and when it can be eased in due course and on what criteria that decision will be taken.

Responding to the Labour leader’s demand, a government source said:

Talk of an exit strategy before we have reached the peak risks confusing the critical message that people need to stay at home in order to protect our NHS and save lives.

The question of how to bring the UK out of lockdown safely has been given more urgency (if that were possible) by a warning by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) yesterday that the UK economy could shrink by 35% in the coming months. It came shortly after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the measures designed to stem the spread of the coronavirus could produce a slump in output this year unparalleled since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Gwen Stefani faces “MAGA Makeover” allegations after promoting lent App
“hey everyone, I just got my ashes, and I’m ready for Lent”: gwen stefani faces backlash over lent prayer challenge
The Fashion Central
The Fashion Central
Kelly Osbourne Before And After Weight Loss Photos: Ozzy's Daughter Gets Flak For Alarming Look During Brit Awards
Kelly Osbourne's appearance at the 2026 Brit Awards sparked online discussions about her weight loss, leading her to address body-shaming comments on Instagram.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
What Happened To Kelly Osbourne? BRIT Awards Appearance Sparks Frenzy As She Slams 'Ozempic Face' Speculation
Kelly Osbourne confronts body-shaming comments following her appearance at the 2026 BRIT Awards, addressing speculation about her weight loss and health.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
SNL Was Forced To Change A Sketch At The Last Minute And Complained About It On The Air
Fear. Rage. Chaos.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Woman sees her favorite singer started following her on Instagram and jumps with excitement. Then she opened their account: ‘This is humiliating’
TikTok creator Paloma (@whor3chata_) is sparking a massive wave of sympathy (and second-hand embarrassment) on TikTok with her recent grwm story. The creator shared the “before and after” of being followed by one of her favorite singers on Instagram. Sadly, the “after” is humiliating.
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Harry Styles, fake stage invaders and a censored Peter Mandelson joke: the biggest moments at the Brit awards
The ITV censors had their work cut out in a protest-filled, relatively edgy ceremony that hosted ultra-expressive performances from Rosalía, Wolf Alice and more
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play